Apparatus for use in assembling machine elements in housings



April 2, 1935. J. E. PADGETT 1,996,170

APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLINQ MACHINEELEMENTS 11 HOUSINGS Filed Nov. 4, 1932 x 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Arroelve Y5 April 2, 1935. J. E. PADGETT 1,996,170

APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLING MACHINE ELEMENTS IN HOUSINGS Filed Nov; 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 76' 19 z/z0 /2 1: i

2 l i 5 I 5 l A TI'OENE vs e which they are to operate.

novel apparatus for mounting a machine i-element sin a housing, with a press fit-betweenthe housing and the bearings of the machine element,-;whererelatively movable guide members are adapted to receive the machine elementtherebetween and to subject the machine element to pressure, 1 axially'of the bearings, while 50 and fluidpressure cylinder removed;

'- and Y Patented Apr. 2, 1935 ArPARATUs ifoR'UsEJNAssEiviBfimGM oHrNE 11m: vni wrs'mnoosmos Joseph E irasgetaaroieao, I

eq meenriner w e which u m manner o i r i e' i irm m i 'o n ee sembling machine ,-elements i nf housings; a'nd wh hwe ce ws Of a W l d r erred. rm hat-mayhem, V ,method; it .should be understood, howeventhat a 10 Claims.

This .inventionhas to do with the assembling of machine elements iii-housings, and as lits principal object, aims to provide a novel r method and apparatus for accurately andreconomically positioning machine elements inthe housingsin More specifically, my invention aims toprovide a novel method and means for accurately mounting diii erentials, with a desired press fi-t,in differential housings of the oneapiecetype Another object of my invention is to provide a novel method for mounting a machineyelement, having anti-friction bearings thereon in a housing,- and in accordance with which method,

axial pressure is applied to the anti-friction bearings betweenspaced members, and. themachine element is then displaced from between the mem- .bers and into the desiredpositionin the housing while. the axial pressure isbeing mair-1 tain'ed. A ifurther object ;of my invention is to provide it 'is being positioned in the housing. I w Still another object ofmy' invention -to' provide novel apparatus formounting a machine element in a housingwitha press fitbetweengthe housing and the bearings oftheelement', wherein relatively movable guide membersare adapted-to receive the element therebetween and to subject it to pressureaxially of thebearings, and wherein a plunger is arranged for movement between the guide members for displacing the machine element into the housingxwhile theaxial pressure is being maintained. I r

3 My invention may be furtheribrieflv some marized as consisting in certain'no,ve 1;steps of procedure, and in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts, hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanyingsheetsof "drawings, I Fig. 1 isa front .elevational .view. showing th novel apparatus of my invention; a

Fig. 2 is apian view thereof withthe plic-a-tion SerialNo. seroeahioor'ebruar'y 5 193?,

carrying out-this novel h i ve o Ji -whim r g r s limited t Before proceeding with the detaileddesciipt'ion pf mynovel methodand of. the a paratuses carrving same, ,l'. shall describe'brieflyfone of the devices which my. invention is applicable. I i n n e th dev ei nsi a d isjaie iq driving axle of the type having a unitary rIoneap ce a t.metal. i e en i la du eel ho sh various :devices; could Joe produced Liv the u o mano e meihedendi n e a -j hicle axialis more fully disclosed in copenfding apu ai nt d .imy si-,]ioei, naliistssis, no; as

a ho n l h vin :omo lr i ns. i m

projections J I 12 to which the axle tubes' may connected, and a iorward-ly. extending integral P OJBCtiQnJ-Q in whichthe pinion shaft? 1:5, is

t es s i ltli iz ri wleta r g m n f amratus whichids illustrated and disclosed herein.

shown Fig. of the drawings; is provided with -A difierent'ial assemblyjldof well 7 known form, is arranged-in the housingwith the v.rn-ain gear, I .thereof;mes hing with thedrive pinion l8 which is, actuatedby theshaft i5. .'I'he.-

d f e la se i Su per-W he eu by ta pair- 0f I anti friction bearings I l 9 'and. vZli,

: and; is accurately .Ipositioned in the housing I by suitable shims}! giisposed between portions of the .diilerentialfcage jthelantifriction bearings; ;-'I'he housing; 10 I is. provided with (radial bearings seats 2 2' and.,23, whi'ch are engaged re- "spectively by bearings lfl and 20, and with end bearing seats li and 2'? which. are alsofen gaged respectively by the antifriction bearings -.t -.According to-my novel method for positioning thedifierential assembly. in the difierential housing with adesired press'fit between the difierential bearingsand the housing, I support the housing 5 I many convenient' mannerg and, after the antifriction bearings and shims' jhave been mounted on thefjournaiportions of the "dififerential; I sub- -j ject the bearings' and 111mm axial pressure be tween 'apair of spaced guide members; and while this axial pressure is being maintained; th'eldifferential assembli is "displaced from 7 between i the guide members and is pressed into the housing.

In-"assembling differentials -into unitary difierentialhou'sings in this manner, the difierentiai be quickly and accurately positioned in the housing so that the main gear of the differential ooprises a' suitable frame Zlhaving lateraly spaced uprights 28 and 29 between which a; differential housing l3 may be received. The uprights 28 and 29 are provided with substantially aligned bearings 30 and 3| in which the housing supports 32 and 33 are reciprocably slidable. The support 32 is provided with a cylindrical portion 34at its inner end which slidably engages in the hollow projection ofthe differential housing. The support 33 is likewise *providedat its inner end "with a cylindrical portion-35 which-slidablyengages in the hollow extension l2 of the differential housing. These slidable. supports are provided at the outer endthereof with a handle'or hand grip portion=36by means'of which the supports may be individually moved into or out of supporting engagement with the hollow extensions of the, housing. I

As shown in Fig; l of the drawings, the upright 28 extends above'the bearing 30 to provide a support 31 to which a guide member 38 is'secured, as by means of the screws 38. The upright 29 also extends above the bearing 3| to provide a support 40 inwhich the block 4| is slidably mounted. At

its inner end the block 4| carries aguide member 42 which is similart and disposed in opposed relationto, the guide member so. As shown in the drawings, the guide member 38 is positioned im- [mediately above the housing support 32- and is provided with a flat vertically extending inner surface" which aligns substantially with the end bearing seat24 of the axle housing when the latter is arranged on thesupports 32 and 33. The

guide member 42 is also provided with a flat vertically extending surface .44 which may be brought into substantial vertical alignment with the end bearing seat 25' of the axle'housing by movement-of the sliding block 4|. 7 v

When the differential l6 is to be positioned in the differential housing l3, the anti-friction bearings Wand 20' are first pressed'onto'the journal portions ofthe differential with shim's 2 of appropriate thickness, between the iner races 'of the bearings and the differential cage. The differential assembly thus produced is then arranged between the relatively movable guide members 38 and 42 with the anti-friction bearings arranged forengagement with the flat inner surfaces 43 and 44 of the guide members. The sliding block PM is then 'movedin wardly, or to'theleft as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, to cause'the'guidernemberfl to move "toward the guide member38ythereby applying axial pressure to the anti-friction bearings and to the shims of thedifierential assembly, and at the sametime bringing the flat inner face 44 of the guidememberfl into substantial vertical alignment withthe end bearing seat 25' of .the housing.

For moving the sliding block .4] to sub ect the differential assembly to axial pressure, in the manner just explained, any-suitable force supplying means may;be,employed, butI prefer to 38 and 42.

use fluid pressure means for this purpose. In this instance, I show the fluid pressure means as being in the form of a cylinder 45, having a reciprocable piston therein, and to which fluid pressure, such as compressed air, may be supplied by suitable valve means. A bracket 46 is secured to the support 40 and afiords a mount for a rocking lever 41. The cylinder 45 is secured to the bracket 46 with the piston rod 48 extending toward, and pivotally connected to, one end of the lever 41. The other end of this lever is operably connected with the sliding block 4|, preferably through a link 49. With the arrangement just described, it will be seen that when fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder 45 on one side of the piston, the lever 41 is rocked to move the guide member 42 toward the guide member 38 and thereby apply axial pressure to the differential assembly. When fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder on the opposite side of the piston, the lever 41 is rocked in the opposite direction to move the guide member 42 away from the guide member 38 to permit a differential assembly to be conveniently positioned between the guide members by the operator.

It may be desirable to limit the inward movement of the sliding block 4|, to prevent excessive pressure from being applied to the differential assembly, and also to prevent the inner face 44 of the guide member 42 from overrunning the end bearing seat Z5' of the housing. To this end I'provide a suitable limit stop 50 on the sliding block. In this instance, the limit stop is in the form of a screw 5|, which is adjustable relative to the block, and which is arranged so that the inner end thereof engages a contact member 52 provided on the support 40.

After the differential assembly I6 has been positioned between the guide members 38 and 42 and the guide member 42 has been moved toward the guide member 38 to subject the differential assembly to axial pressure, the differential assembly is then displaced from between the guide members and pressed into the difierential housing so that a desired press fit is obtained between the anti-friction bearings and the bearing seats of the housing. To displace the differential assembly into the housing while the axial pressure is thus being maintained on the differential assembly, I provide a plunger or slide 53 which is reciprocably movable between the guide members This'plunger is provided with spaced concave contact portions 54 and 55 which engage, respectively, the anti-friction bearings l9 and 20' when the plunger is moved downwardly to displace the differential assembly into the housing. The plunger may-be actuated by any suitable power means such as a fluid pressure cylinder, not shown, having a piston actuated rod 56 operably connected to the upper end of the plunger.

When the differential assembly is being pressed downwardly into the axle housing by the plunger 53, it is necessary that the teeth of the main gear mesh with the teeth of the drive pinion I8, and to facilitate such meshing of the teeth of these gear members, I provide means for adjustably rotating the drive pinion during the downward movement of the differential assembly. Any suitable means may be employed for moving the drive pinion, but I find that the desired motion can be conveniently imparted to the pinion .by means of a rock shaft 51, which is journaled in the frame 21 below the differential housing, and which is provided with a pair of spaced pins 58,

I or other suitablemeans, for establishingadriv "element and the housing, anwthat when the ing connection with the coupling 59 oif'the pinion shaft. In the arrangement illlustrated the drawings; thep'ins58' are mounted in a head or in, a pair 0f members disposedfad jahent said supe' flange 69 'ari'dfare spaced apartto "correspond with the spacing of the bolt holes in the pinion shaft coupling 59. Rotation may be imparted to the'shaft 51 by means of asuitable lever or handle 6i attached to the lower endoi' this shaft. From the foregoing descriptionand the accompanying drawings, it'should new be readily understood that I have fprovid'ed'la novel mefliod and apparatus for accurately and economically positioning machineelementsinthe housings in ential from betweenithe samfand into position which they areto operate; Iiivlfill alsobe readily seen that by the useoffm'y' novel method a desired press fit-is obtained between the machine machine element is a diiferentialassembly and the housing is a differential housing of theunl tarytype, this press fit' results} in accurate positioning and emci'ent 1 cooperationiof the moving parts, such that a rugged and'si'noothly operating vehicle axle is produced; "Itwill be understood,

moreover, that I have provided novel apparatus by means of which the ma'ehine'elements' can be rapidly and accuratelypositioned'inthe housings, and that, by the use of'this apparatus, the desired correct positioning of the parts is invariablyobtained even though the work' be performed by aninexperienced operator: I

While I have illustratedhn'd' described the method and apparatus" of my invention, it should beunderstood, however, that Idonot wish to be limited to the exact *stepsof procedure, nor to the precise details of"construction' anda'rrangement of parts," as herein illustrated and described, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do'not involve a departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a frame with means thereon for supporting a housing" of the type having bearing seats adapted to receive bearings which support a machine element, means providing said frame with spaced portions adapted for substantial alignment with the bearing seats of said housing and to receive therebetween a machine element having bearings thereon, means for ap plying axial pressure to said bearings through said spaced portions, and means movable along between said spaced portions for displacing said machine element from between the same and into position in said housing with its bearings engaging saidbearing seats. I

2. In combination, a frame with means thereon for supporting a housing of the type having substantially coaxial bearing seats adapted to receive bearings which support 'a machine element, a pair of members having surfaces aligned substantially with opposed portions of the bearing seats of said housing and arranged at substantially right angles to the common axis of the bear,-

ing seats, said members being adapted to receive the same and into position in engagement with said bearing seats while axial pressure is being maintained.

3; In-combinatiom-a fr ame having a? Mind seamen movable supports thereon adapted to' "engage a housing having'substantially coaxially arranged spaced'diiferential bearing seats thereports and having surfaces, aligned substantially with said bearingseatsand arranged at substanaxial pressure to said bearings' and shims through said members, and means movable between and guided by said members'for displacing the. differin said bearingseatsfwhile he axial pressure is being maintained; v N '4. In combination, a rrame adapted-to-receive a gear ho'u'singfof the tyr'iefh'aving' substantially aligned hollow projectionsandspaced integrally f-ormedlbearin'g seats, a pair; of supports reciprocably slidable on said frame and adapted-to enbetween a gear element'having anti fr'iction bearings thereon, means for causing relative movement between said ways forapplyingaxial pressure to said bearings'and for bringing the ways into substantial alignment with-bearingseatsof the hous- I ;ing,=and a slide movable in-said ways for displacins ai s r lementfroni between the ways and intov position inthe' bearing seats ofthe housing. '5 In'combina'tion; aframeadapted to receive a ear housing having spaced bearing seats there- M in, means onsaid frame forsuppo'rting the gear housing, a guide member stationarily mounted'on the frame forsubs'ta'ntiai alignmentlwith a b'aring seat of the gear housing, a second guide member, movable toward and away from the first mentioned guide member, said guide members being 'tially right angles tothe common axis of the bear Pro gage in said hollow.projectionsfa pairof-spaced relatively movable'iwaysadapted-to receive theref v adapted to receive therebetween a gear element having anti-friction bearings thereon, means for moving said second guide member'into substantial alignment with another bearing seat of the housing and thereby applying axial pressureto said bearings, andmeans for displacing said gear, element from between said guide members and I into said housing whereby said bearings engage v said seats with a press fit. I

6.'In combination, a frame adapted to receive a gear housing having spaced bearing seats'there- "in, 'means on said'frame for supporting the gear housing, aguide member stationarily mounted on the frame for substantial alignment with a bearing seat of the gear housing, a second guide mem-,

ber movable toward and away from the first menadapted to receive therebetween a gear element having anti-friction bearings thereon, fluid pressure responsive means for moving said second guide member into substantial alignment with another bearing seat of said housing and thereby applying axial pressure to said-bearings, and means for slidably ejecting said gear element from between said guide members and into said housing whereby said'bearings engage said seats with a press fit.

'7. In combination, aframe having means there on for supporting a housing of the type having pair of relatively movable guide members adapted to receive therebetween a machine element having anti-friction bearings thereon, fluid pressure responsive means for causing relative move-.

seats for the bearings of a machine element, a V

Lment between said guide members whereby axial pressure is applied. to said bearings and the guide members are, aligned substantially with said bearing seats, and meansfor, displacing said machine element from between, said guide membersand into the housing.

- a 8. '-In combination a frame having means thereon for supporting a gear housing having a pinion -.therein and spaced seats for the bearings of a second gear element, a pair of relatively movable guide members adapted to receive .therebetween ,a secondv gear element having anti-friction bear- 'ings thereon, means for causing relative move- .ment between said guide members whereby axial pressure is applied tofsaidbearingsand the guide members are aligned substantially with said spaced seats, means" for displacing said second gear element from between said guide members to aposition-in the housing between said seats and -in-mesh' with said pinion, and means Ior moving saidpinion during the displacement of said second .gear element.

9. Incombination, a frame adapted to receive .a gear housing of the type having integral hollow projections andintegrally formed bearing seats :including opposed definitelyspaced thrust seats,

;a pair of-supportsmounted-for relativeshifting movement on said frame and adapted to engage vin said hollow projections 'for positioning said housing, a pair ofguide members including a guide "member stationarily mounted on said frame and having a surface portion which alignssubstan- I tially with one of said-thrust seats of the housing and a second guide member supported. on I the frame for movement relative to the first mentioned guide member and having a surface portion adapted to be aligned with the other of said thrust seats, the surface portions of said guide members being adapted to'receive therebetween a gear element having anti-friction bearings and positioning shims thereon, means for moving the second mentioned guide member toward the first mentionedguide member for applying axial pressure to said bearings and shims and for aligning the surface portion of the second guide member .ing seats therein including opposed thrust seats,

a pair of supports mounted for sliding movement on the sides of said frame and adapted to engage in the hollow projections of said housing, guides arranged respectively on the sides of said frame "andadapted to receive therebetween a gear element having bearings and positioning shims thereon, one of said guides aligning substantially with one of the thrust seats of said housing and the other guide being movable for applying pressure .to said assembly and for aligning with the other of said thrust seats, means for actuating said other guide including a member slidably mounted on the frame and fluid pressure actuated means operatively connected with said member, and means movable between said guides for displacing the gear assembly from between the same and into position between and said thrust seats while said pressure is being maintained. JOSEPH E. PADGET'I. 

